Mugford, Gerrard. “Face, linguistic (im)politeness and polyphony in Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd”, Crossroads. A
Journal of English Studies 2013/1, 54-68.
Gerrard Mugford
Universidad de Guadalajara
Face, linguistic (im)politeness and polyphony in Thomas Hardy’s Far from
the Madding Crowd
Abstract. Thomas Hardy’s novel Far from the Madding Crowd provides a stark contrast in how the
characters project their face (Goffman 1967) and how they seek approval from others. Such a contrast
can be analysed in terms of Bakhtin’s polyphony – the many voices found in a text which includes the
author’s portrayal of his protagonists and how they interact with each other. In order to highlight this
contrast and its way of coming across, I examine how three key characters in the novel, Gabriel Oak,
Sergeant Frank Troy and William Boldwood, present themselves interpersonally. I use the concept of
linguistic (im)politeness to demonstrate how the protagonists try to further themselves, especially in
their pursuit of Bathsheba Everdene. I argue that a linguistic (im)politeness approach can also be
applied to other novels of Thomas Hardy and indeed to a wider range of literature.
Keywords: impoliteness, polyphony, face, Thomas Hardy.
1.
Introduction
Traditional rational social behaviour is pitted against the discursive and evolving construction
of relationships in Far from the Madding Crowd as protagonists present contrasting
conceptions of their self (Cupach & Metts 1994: 3) or what Goffman terms face (1967). Face
potentially reflects three aspects of interpersonal interaction: how a participant wants to come
across, how a participant interacts with others and how a participant expects to be treated by
others. An author has the choice of conveying the face that his/her protagonists want to
project and highlight how they seek to come across or, alternatively, he/she can let the
characters speak for themselves and claim their own face. The latter choice reflects Bakhtin’s
concept of polyphony as the protagonists find their own voice and thus enabling “characters
and narrator speak on equal terms” (Vice 1997: 6). Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd
offers a wide range of contexts for studying face and polyphony.
The concept of face is intimately related to linguistic (im)politeness. (Im)politeness,
the accepted term for referring to politeness and impoliteness, is a key concept and refers to
those strategies that aim to enhance, preserve, undermine or damage the face of other
interactants. Whether intentional or unintentional, (im)politeness involves interpersonal work
as interactants construct, develop, maintain or terminate a given relationship.
A writer can allow the protagonists to engage in (im)politeness and facework – “the
actions taken by a person to make whatever he is doing consistent with face” (Goffman 1967:
12) by allowing them to speak for themselves (without authorial interference) or he or she can
explain the characters’ motives, pretensions and objectives to his/her reader. In this paper, the
concepts of face, polyphony and linguistic (im)politeness are examined to see whether they
help the reader understand both authorial intent and protagonists’ motives in the novel.
2.
Positioning the novel
The novel’s title supposedly portends a quiet pastoral narrative, but as Kramer argues “[t]he
opening chapters of the first of the major Wessex novels, Far from the Madding Crowd
Mugford, Gerrard. “Face, linguistic (im)politeness and polyphony in Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd”, Crossroads. A
Journal of English Studies 2013/1, 54-68.
(1874), present a pastoral world and simultaneously invalidate the myth” (1979: 20). Any
possible idea of rustic tranquillity is quickly undermined by Bathsheba’s rejection of Oak’s
marriage proposal, the dramatic loss of his flock of sheep and his subsequent unemployment.
Also referring to possibly dashed reader expectations, Nemesvari notes that “a novel like Far
From the Madding Crowd, with its allusive title and early, literal representation of a shepherd
and flock, prepares its audience for a pastoral idyll but then juxtaposes this with the harsh
materialism of agricultural economics and a sensational love triangle resulting in murder and
madness” (2009: 102). Focusing on changing economic realities, Page argues that “the
contrast is between worlds and epochs, the Industrial Age represented by the steam-train, the
Agrarian Age that has preceded it: in other words it embodies an idea as well as an image”
(2001: 111). On a symbolic level, Oak represents tradition and stability whilst Troy reflects
change, manipulation and new ways of interacting.
At an interpersonal level, Far from the Madding Crowd portrays contrasting norms
and patterns of behaviour as Gabriel Oak, Sergeant Frank Troy and William Boldwood
attempt to woo Bathsheba Everdene. Regan argues that:
[a]t one level, the narrative structure of Far from the Madding Crowd seems very bold
and simple. Three suitors compete for the affections of Bathsheba Everdene: a shepherd,
a gentleman farmer, and a soldier. The narrative progresses according to three
aspirations of each of these lovers, and much of the drama in the novel ensues from the
overlapping and competing interests of the three, as well as from Bathsheba’s
fluctuating responses. (2009: 249)
Therefore, the whole plot of Far from the Madding Crowd reflects a continual sea of
change. Regan goes on to argue that “this stark outline, however, is given a highly elaborate
design by the repeated emphasis on visual codes of conduct and by the shifting degrees of
visual attention and discrimination with which the principal characters regard each other”
(2009: 249). I wish to further pursue this idea of ‘codes of conduct’ by arguing that the suitors
reflect three contrasting ways of presenting their face and interacting with others in terms of
linguistic (im)politeness.
3.
Putting on a good face
Before discussing ‘codes of conduct’ regarding key protagonists from Far from the Madding
Crowd, I examine the concepts of face, facework and linguistic (im)politeness as part of a
possible framework for understanding how Hardy himself describes and portrays the
protagonists and also how they express themselves.
The term face is a key concept when trying to understand interpersonal behaviour.
Goffman argues that in a given interaction a participant will act out a line “that is a pattern of
verbal and nonverbal acts by which he [sic] expresses his view of the situation and through
this his evaluation of the participants, especially himself” (1967: 5). As participants express
their view of the situation, they want to present themselves in a positive light which is
achieved through face which Goffman argues:
may be defined as the positive social value a person effectively claims for himself by
the line others assume he has taken during a particular contact. Face is an image of self
delineated in terms of approved social attributes – albeit an image others may share, as
when a person makes a good showing for his profession or religion by making a good
showing for himself. (Goffman 1967: 5)
Mugford, Gerrard. “Face, linguistic (im)politeness and polyphony in Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd”, Crossroads. A
Journal of English Studies 2013/1, 54-68.
Participants want to establish a face that makes them ‘feel good’ as they seek support
and approval from others which in the context of this paper means other protagonists in the
novel. In contrast, if an interactant’s “ordinary expectations are not fulfilled, one expects that
he will ‘feel bad’ or ‘feel hurt’” (Goffman 1967: 6). The concept of face therefore reflects an
interactant’s identity in a given interaction as he/she attempts to come across in socially
sanctioned ways. In a novel, this will often mean a character presenting himself or herself in a
recognisably acceptable way to other characters and also to the reader and subsequently
following established norms and patterns of behaviour. Gabriel Oak, Sergeant Frank Troy and
William Boldwood, the three suitors in Far from the Madding Crowd, try to make a positive
showing by highlighting their ‘approved social attributes’ especially in the eyes of Bathsheba
Everdene, the object of their love.
Gabriel Oak projects himself as responsible and dependable. He is self-effacing as he
quickly gives up his attempt to marry Bathsheba on hearing that she had other suitors: “I’m
only an every-day sort of man, and my only chance was in being the first comer... Well,
there’s no use in my waiting, for that was all I came about: so I’ll take myself off home”
(Chapter 4). And, after being rejected by Bathsheba, he finally says “Then I’ll ask you no
more” (Chapter 4).
In contrast, Boldwood is persistent and tries to project himself in a positive light:
“I am now forty-one years old,” he went on. “I may have been called a confirmed
bachelor, and I was a confirmed bachelor. I had never any views of myself as a husband
in my earlier days, nor have I made any calculation on the subject since I have been
older. But we all change, and my change, in this matter, came with seeing you. I have
felt lately, more and more, that my present way of living is bad in every respect. Beyond
all things, I want you as my wife.” (Chapter 19).
He attempts to make a good showing for himself as reflective and flexible by saying
he is willing to change his lifestyle in order to accommodate a wife. His persistence continues
throughout the novel through to his eventual killing of Troy. Meanwhile, Troy does not court
in any conventional or expected way:
“I’ve seen a good many women in my time” continued the young man in a murmur, and
more thoughtfully than hitherto, critically regarding her bent head at the same time; “but
I’ve never seen a woman so beautiful as you. Take it or leave it – be offended or like it
– I don’t care.” (Chapter 24)
Troy presents the face of someone who speaks their mind and supposedly does not care what
the other person thinks about him. In reality, he very much cares as his facework is a carefully
crafted strategy to entice his intended ‘victim’.
The process or result of facework may either help or undermine a character’s attempt
to portray himself or herself in a positive light, as Shimanoff argues:
facework may be defined as behaviors which establish, enhance, threaten, or diminish
the images/identities of communicators. The images/identities of communicators have
been linked to the basic needs of approval and autonomy (Brown and Levinson, 1978).
Facework may be directed toward oneself or another. (1994: 159-160)
In the case of Oak, he diminishes his face by withdrawing from his pursuit of
Bathsheba. Whilst only focusing on his own face, Boldwood persistently undermines
Bathsheba’s face by only considering his needs rather than her feelings. Meanwhile, Troy
focuses on the face of his victim making her feel special and consequently enhances his own
Mugford, Gerrard. “Face, linguistic (im)politeness and polyphony in Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd”, Crossroads. A
Journal of English Studies 2013/1, 54-68.
face in her eyes. This politeness strategy has variously been described as face boosting acts
(FBAs) (Bayraktaroğlu, 1991, 2001), intimacy enhancement (Aston, 1989), face enhancement
(Sifianou, 1995) and rapport enhancement (Spencer-Oatey, 2008). They all roughly cover the
same area of usage.
4.
Linguistic (im)politeness
Linguistic (im)politeness is closely related to the concept of face, and Brown and Levinson
(1987) argue that polite behaviour tries to avoid attacking the face of other interactants or
refraining from face threatening acts (FTAs) (1987: 60). Lakoff (1973: 298) argues that there
are rules of politeness for participants to follow (Don’t Impose; Give Options; and Make A
feel good – be friendly) and Leech (1983) outlines maxims that should be adhered to such as
those of Tact and Modesty. However, in this paper, politeness is studied from the point of
view of expected and unexpected behaviour. Consequently, I adopt Watts’s (2003) terms:
politic and polite behaviour. Politic reflects accepted forms and codes of conduct whilst polite
behaviour reflects behaviour that goes beyond expected behaviour. Politic behaviour is
predictably courteous and respectful as can be seen in Oak’s abandonment of the idea of
marrying Bathsheba as he complies with her wishes. In contrast, polite behaviour reflects the
unexpected and reflects interpersonal risk-taking when interacting with others as reflected by
Troy’s attempt to win over Bathsheba e.g. Take it or leave it -- be offended or like it -- I don’t
care (Chapter 24). Watts distinguishes between politic and polite conduct in the following
way:
linguistic behaviour which is perceived to be appropriate to the social constraints of the
ongoing interaction, i.e. as non-salient, should be called politic behaviour. Linguistic
behaviour which is perceived to be beyond what is expectable, i.e. salient behaviour,
should be called polite or impolite depending on whether the behaviour itself tends
towards the negative or positive end of the spectrum of politeness. (Watts 2003: 19)
Since linguistic (im)politeness is a way of initiating, advancing, upholding or ending a
given relationship, interactants face choices regarding how they want to come across or be
evaluated by others. They can follow pre-determined, stereotypical and appropriate norms of
interaction as outlined by politic behaviour i.e. “that behaviour, linguistic and non-linguistic,
which the participants construct as being appropriate to the ongoing social interaction” (Watts
2003: 20). Such behaviour can be seen in Gabriel Oak’s conduct and his way of being and his
actions reflect traditional norms and practices. In the following extract, Wotton contrasts Oak
with Joseph, a farm worker:
It is with Oak that the reader identifies, Oak who here represents the voice of
respectability, duty, the work ethic. He is the responsible subject, the centre of
initiatives, author of and responsible for, his actions, who works by himself and wishes
that Joseph would also show himself ‘a man of spirit’. (1985: 66)
By contrast, polite behaviour “will therefore be behaviour beyond what is perceived to
be appropriate to the ongoing social interaction, which says nothing about how members
evaluate it” and “the definition implies that linguistic structures are not, per definitionem,
inherently polite” (Watts 2003: 21). For instance, Troy takes a risk when courting Bathsheba
with his outspoken, potentially rude and discourteous language which may be evaluated as
either polite or impolite by her. On the surface, Bathsheba appears to see Troy’s behaviour as
impolite but immediately asks Liddy, her trusted servant, for information about him.
Mugford, Gerrard. “Face, linguistic (im)politeness and polyphony in Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd”, Crossroads. A
Journal of English Studies 2013/1, 54-68.
There are occasions when girls like Bathsheba will put up with a great deal of
unconventional behaviour. When they want to be praised, which is often, when they
want to be mastered, which is sometimes; and when they want no nonsense, which is
seldom. Just now the first feeling was in the ascendant with Bathsheba, with a dash of
the second. (Chapter 24)
Just as Troy shows, Watts’ category of polite behaviour can come across as impolite,
e.g. “I’ve never seen a woman so beautiful as you. Take it or leave it – be offended or like it –
I don’t care”. Whilst complimenting Bathsheba on her beauty and presumably wanting her to
feel good, Troy displays impoliteness by saying that he does not really care how she feels.
Boldwood also demonstrates that politic can also have the same impoliteness effect,
especially as he relentlessly pursues Bathsheba after she turns down his offer of marriage:
“Say then, that you don’t absolutely refuse. Do not quite refuse?”
“I can do nothing. I cannot answer.
“I may speak to you again on the subject?”
“Yes.”
“I may think of you?”
“Yes, I suppose you may think of me.”
“And hope to obtain you?”
“No -- do not hope! Let us go on.”
“I will call upon you again to-morrow.”
“No -- please not. Give me time.”
“Yes -- I will give you any time,” he said earnestly and gratefully. “I am happier now.”
(Chapter 19)
Whilst following the protocol of courting with “I may speak to you again on the
subject?, I may think of you?” and “I will give you any time”, Boldwood comes across as facethreatening and potentially impolite. This can especially be seen when he renews his attempt
to marry Bathsheba after Troy’s disappearance on a beach on the south coast and despite her
reluctance to admit that her husband may be dead:
“Bathsheba, suppose you had real complete proof that you are what, in fact, you are -- a
widow -- would you repair the old wrong to me by marrying me?”
“I cannot say. I shouldn’t yet, at any rate.”
“But you might at some future time of your life?”
“Oh yes, I might at some time.”
“Well, then, do you know that without further proof of any kind you may marry again in
about six years from the present -- subject to nobody’s objection or blame?”
(Chapter 51)
Boldwood’s superficial demonstration of politeness, e.g. “you might at some future
time”, indirectness, e.g. “would you repair the old wrong”, and conjecture, e.g. “suppose
you” hides his underlying insensitiveness to Bathsheba’s loss of her husband and Boldwood’s
self-serving motivation. His supposed politic behaviour demonstrates, as Watts argues, how
polite behaviour can be evaluated as rude:
Positively marked politic behaviour is open to an overt interpretation as polite. Hence
only a relatively small subsection of politic behaviour is likely to be explicitly evaluated
by participants as ‘polite’. Marked behaviour, however, can be noticed in two difference
ways. It may be perceived as negative either if it is open to an interpretation as impolite
(or as downright rude), or if it is perceived as over-polite, i.e. both kinds of negatively
Mugford, Gerrard. “Face, linguistic (im)politeness and polyphony in Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd”, Crossroads. A
Journal of English Studies 2013/1, 54-68.
marked non-politic behaviour tend towards similar kinds of affective reaction on the
part of co-participants.
(Watts 2005: xliii- xliv)
To reiterate, Boldwood’s use of formulaic politic language such as “suppose you” and
“but you might” thinly veil his true intentions, i.e. pressuring Bathsheba into remarrying.
Just as behaviour may be categorised as being politic and polite, I will argue that
behaviour may also be impolitic and impolite within Watts’s framework. Impolitic behaviour
reflects explicit and expected ways of being impolite. Meanwhile impolite patterns of
interacting can be categorised as unexpected and salient examples of impoliteness or
rudeness.
5.
Polyphony
Face can be seen as individual possession or a negotiated position as interactants support each
other in the way they want to come across. In the process they may lose a degree of
independence as they accommodate to others. Bakhtin’s concept of polyphony restores
individuality and independence to the protagonists: “The essence of polyphony lies precisely
in the fact that the voices remain independent and, as such, are combined in a unity of a
higher order” (Bakhtin 1984: 21). The author has a choice when conveying linguistic
(im)politeness, especially when it is analysed in terms of politic and polite behaviour. He or
she can speak for the protagonists and explain their motives or they can be allowed to speak
for (and between) themselves. Bakhtin describes this choice in terms of polyphony:
polyphony “refers to the ‘many-voicedness’ of texts in which characters and narrator speak on
equal terms” (Vice 1997: 6). Therefore, a reader of Far from the Madding Crowd needs to
balance Hardy’s authorial voice and the voices of the protagonists. Morson and Emerson
argue that polyphony is Bakhtin’s “most original and counterintuitive concept” (1997: 258) as
“the reader is asked to engage directly with the ideas of characters, much as the reader
engages with the ideas of the author” (1997: 259). Therefore, polyphony potentially liberates
the reader from only following the writer’s interpretation of the text and allows him/her to
construct his/her own understanding free from the monologic narrative of the author.
The novel Far from the Madding Crowd may not be considered to be a polyphonic
novel since the author as narrator attempts to maintain full control of the story or, as Mallett
argues, “Hardy’s narrator typically retains the telling voice of the traditional story” (2004:
10). However, the protagonists’ voices, to varying degrees, come through in their interactions
with each other. Therefore, polyphony may still emerge as the reader navigates his/her way
through the author’s interpretation of events and the actions and dialogues of the characters
themselves or, as Bakhtin argues: “novels usually present completely final arguments
summarized from the author’s standpoint (if there are arguments at all) [...] But any novel is
generally filled with dialogic overtones (not always with its heroes, of course)” (1986: 112).
Therefore a novel is filled with different characters’ revelations regarding their
motives, their perspectives and their justifications. To fully appreciate the characters’
motivations in Far from the Madding Crowd, the reader needs to understand, for instance, the
primordial importance of Troy’s undying love for Fanny, who dies carrying his baby. In the
same vein, Boldwood’s obsession with Bathsheba can only fully be understood in terms of the
total abandonment of the economic wellbeing of his farm whereas before, his whole character
was built on “dignity” (Chapter 12) since he “was tenant of what was called Little
Weatherbury Farm, and his person was the nearest approach to aristocracy that this remoter
quarter of the parish could boast of” (Chapter 18).
Mugford, Gerrard. “Face, linguistic (im)politeness and polyphony in Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd”, Crossroads. A
Journal of English Studies 2013/1, 54-68.
Bakhtin would argue that polyphony goes much further than just revealing the author’s
descriptions vis-à-vis characters’ own version of events since it provides a “unity of higher
order” (Morson and Emerson 1997: 261). Morson and Emerson add that
we might explain [polyphonic unity] this way: because each character is in a position to
the author of a monologic work, each could in principle supply a monologic order to the
whole. Hence the polyphonic unity of all these characters is a unity of potential unities,
which is to say, is unity of a second (or higher) order. In this sense, the “unity of the
event” is a unity of co-being (1997: 261)
Therefore polyphony is not an optional extra which provides an alternative reading of
a text. It is a fundamental part of appreciating and valuing the novel. The author and the
characters, whether they be heroes or villains, all contribute to the overall cohesiveness and
coherence of the text.
6.
Codes of conduct
The reader is faced with two codes of conduct, politic and polite, in Far from the Madding
Crowd which are displayed by the author and in the interaction between the protagonists. The
reader engages directly with the (im)politeness of the protagonists, just as much as he or she
does with the author’s descriptions of (im)politeness. Far from the Madding Crowd reflects
both Hardy’s perceptions of Gabriel Oak, Sergeant Frank Troy and William Boldwood and
the protagonists’ own inner speech and thoughts. Hardy maintains full control of the story and
his voice ‘tells’ the story but his characters display their own thought processes.
6.1. Oak: politic behaviour
Hardy strongly underscores Gabriel Oak’s face and says that he should be seen as ‘a young
man of sound judgment, easy motions, proper dress, and general good character’ (Chapter 1).
However, this description is possibly contradicted later on in the chapter, when Hardy
physically describes him as follows:
He had just reached the time of life at which “young” is ceasing to be the prefix of
“man” in speaking of one. He was at the brightest period of masculine growth, for his
intellect and his emotions were clearly separated: he had passed the time during which
the influence of youth indiscriminately mingles them in the character of impulse, and he
had not yet arrived at the stage wherein they become united again, in the character of
prejudice, by the influence of a wife and family. In short, he was twenty-eight, and a
bachelor. (Chapter 1)
Whether Oak should be described as a young man or not, he is portrayed as sound,
proper and guarded. In terms of face, Oak does not appear to be interested in gaining the
approval of others since he speaks his mind throughout the novel and does not mind upsetting
others. For instance, he tells off Joseph Poorgrass, Jan Coggan and Mark Clark for getting
drunk instead of making sure that Fanny Robin’s corpseis taken directly to Weatherbury for
burial:
“Upon my soul, I’m ashamed of you; ‘tis disgraceful, Joseph, disgraceful!” said Gabriel,
indignantly. “Coggan, you call yourself a man, and don’t know better than this.”
(Chapter 42)
Mugford, Gerrard. “Face, linguistic (im)politeness and polyphony in Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd”, Crossroads. A
Journal of English Studies 2013/1, 54-68.
Page describes him as
a working man who will turn out to be the hero of the story, but this time he is presented
as a solitary figure rather than a member of a group (2001: 41 - 42).
At the same time, Page argues that Hardy’s description of Oak reflects a stereotypical
character:
Though Gabriel is depicted as an individual, there is in this passage a strong sense of
community[...] He is defined partly in terms of his status as a farmer, with the social and
economic implications carried by that status; this is a point of considerable importance
since Gabriel’s’ fortunes in the course of the novel are to fluctuate dramatically and his
status and occupation will undergo dramatic changes. (Page 2001: 44 - 45)
The question then arises concerning what Oak stands for. As Page indicates, Oak’s
usefulness throughout the novel is largely connected with his knowledge, skills and
experience of farming rather than in any ability at successfully undertaking interpersonal
relationships. This assertion can be seen in his original marriage proposal as he calls at
Bathsheba’s house and talks to her aunt, Mrs Hurst:
“Yes, I will wait,” said Gabriel, sitting down. “The lamb isn’t really the business I came
about, Mrs. Hurst. In short, I was going to ask her if she’d like to be married.”
“And were you indeed?”
“Yes. Because if she would, I should be very glad to marry her. D’ye know if she’s got
any other young man hanging about her at all?”
(Chapter 4)
Oak is only willing to do the proper and correct thing if she has no other suitors. This is
a display of politic behaviour which can be seen throughout the novel since “life and work for
most of the characters embody continuity and tradition” (Page 2001: 85).
However, the reader may decide that Gabriel does not always conform to the politic
behaviour that Hardy carefully projects. His interactions with other characters do not always
reflect the face that the author intended. Oak occasionally engages in Watts’ polite
unexpected and salient behaviour. For instance, when he playfully hints about marriage with
Bathsheba
“My name is Gabriel Oak.”
“And mine isn’t. You seem fond of yours in speaking it so decisively, Gabriel Oak.”
“You see, it is the only one I shall ever have, and I must make the most of it.”
“I always think mine sounds odd and disagreeable.”
“I should think you might soon get a new one.”
“Mercy! -- how many opinions you keep about you concerning other people, Gabriel
Oak.”
“Well, Miss -- excuse the words -- I thought you would like them. But I can’t match
you, I know, in napping out my mind upon my tongue. I never was very clever in my
inside. But I thank you. Come, give me your hand.”
(Chapter 3)
Oak can be seen to be playing with language e.g. “it is the only one I shall ever have”
and hints at her possibly getting married i.e. “I should think you might soon get a new one”
and breaks politic behaviour by saying “Come, give me your hand”.
Mugford, Gerrard. “Face, linguistic (im)politeness and polyphony in Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd”, Crossroads. A
Journal of English Studies 2013/1, 54-68.
In certain passages, Gabriel comes across in very rustic ways as opposed to one that
shows ‘proper dress’. For instance, in the following dialogue which takes place at the
Malthouse, Oak, who has just been hired as the new shepherd on Bathsheba’s farm, gets to
know the other farm labourers, including Jacob Smallbury:
“A clane cup for the shepherd,” said the maltster commandingly.
“No -- not at all,” said Gabriel, in a reproving tone of considerateness. “I never fuss
about dirt in its pure state, and when I know what sort it is.” Taking the mug he drank
an inch or more from the depth of its contents, and duly passed it to the next man. “I
wouldn’t think of giving such trouble to neighbours in washing up when there’s so
much work to be done in the world already.” continued Oak in a moister tone, after
recovering from the stoppage of breath which is occasioned by pulls at large mugs.
“A right sensible man,” said Jacob.
(Chapter 8)
Gabriel conveys a practical and unassuming attitude regarding politeness and
interacting with others. He does not maintain his sense of decorum and demureness that
characterise his behaviour in much of the novel. He is quite willing to drink from a dirty cup
that the others are drinking from rather than from a ‘clane’ one. His down-to-earth behaviour
gains approval from Jacob, who calls Gabriel ‘a right sensible man’.
6.2. Boldwood: impolitic behaviour
Boldwood is another loner in Far from the Madding Crowd and, like Oak, Hardy projects him
as aloof and distant:
He saw no absurd sides to the follies of life, and thus, though not quite companionable
in the eyes of merry men and scoffers, and those to whom all things show life as a jest,
he was not intolerable to the earnest and those acquainted with grief. (Chapter 18)
Hardy portrays Boldwood as someone who can easily become focused on one desire:
“His equilibrium disturbed, he was in extremity at once. If an emotion possessed him at all, it
ruled him; a feeling not mastering him was entirely latent. Stagnant or rapid, it was never
slow. He was always hit mortally, or he was missed” (Chapter 18). Indeed, the only object of
his desire is Bathsheba whom he relentlessly pursues and who becomes his obsession which
eventually puts him in prison and “confinement during her Majesty’s pleasure” (Chapter 55).
Boldwood employs both politic and polite behavioural strategies to try to achieve his
objectives. As Watts points out, politic and polite behaviour may be linguistic and nonlinguistic. Boldwood engages in a range of non-linguistic strategies to win over Bathsheba
including trying to bribe Troy into not marrying Bathsheba and his eventual murder of the
Sergeant when he surprisingly returns after being presumed drowned, thus thwarting
Boldwood’s wedding plans. He tries to bribe Troy in the following way:
“So all I ask is, don’t molest her any more. Marry Fanny. I’ll make it worth your while.”
“How will you?”
“I’ll pay you well now, I’ll settle a sum of money upon her, and I’ll see that you don’t
suffer from poverty in the future. I’ll put it clearly. Bathsheba is only playing with you:
you are too poor for her as I said; so give up wasting your time about a great match
you’ll never make for a moderate and rightful match you may make to-morrow; take up
your carpet-bag, turn about, leave Weatherbury now, this night, and you shall take fifty
pounds with you. Fanny shall have fifty to enable her to prepare for the wedding, when
Mugford, Gerrard. “Face, linguistic (im)politeness and polyphony in Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd”, Crossroads. A
Journal of English Studies 2013/1, 54-68.
you have told me where she is living, and she shall have five hundred paid down on her
wedding-day.”
(Chapter 34)
Boldwood engages in direct and unambiguous (bald on record) impoliteness which
Culpeper defines as impoliteness “in the most direct, clear, unambiguous, and concise way
possible” (Brown and Levinson, 1987: 69)’ (1996: 355). Boldwood attacks Troy’s
“reputation, prestige and self-esteem” (Culpeper 2011: 24) which Culpeper closely associates
with offence and loss of face.
So whilst Boldwood appears to reflect politic behaviour, his interaction with other
protagonists reveals that he is willing to use a wide range of impolitic and impolite resources
to achieve his goals.
6.3.Troy: dangerous politeness
Hardy claims that “idiosyncrasy and vicissitude had combined to stamp Sergeant Troy as an
exceptional being” (Chapter 25) as he paints a negative picture of Bathsheba’s future husband
who seems to be constantly changing course:
Troy was full of activity, but his activities were less of a locomotive than a vegetative
nature; and, never being based upon any original choice of foundation or direction, they
were exercised on whatever object chance might place in their way. Hence, whilst he
sometimes reached the brilliant in speech because that was spontaneous, he fell below
the commonplace in action, from inability to guide incipient effort.
(Chapter 25)
Troy’s casual ways also appear to extend to his treatment of women:
He had been known to observe casually that in dealing with womankind the only
alternative to flattery was cursing and swearing. There was no third method. “Treat
them fairly, and you are a lost man.” he would say.
(Chapter 25)
Just as Boldwood uses politic and polite behavioural strategies to achieve his
objective, Troy uses (im)politeness to satisfy himself and to not cater to the needs of his
women: Fanny and Bathsheba.
With regards to stereotypes, Troy contrasts strongly with Oak: Oak, the farmer and
shepherd, represents tradition and predictability. Troy, the soldier, reflects the opposite:
aggression and change. As Page argues, “the glamorous and somewhat exotic figure of
Sergeant Troy is a disturbing factor. But at the outset the emphasis is on stability and
conformity” (2001: 45). Troy upsets this emphasis with his demonstrations’ of military
prowess and seductive way with words.
Troy also represents a different way of engaging in social relations and boosting the
face of others (Bayraktaroğlu, 1991, 2001) as can be seen in the following excerpt when his
military attire becomes caught up in Bathsheba’s dress and he tries to untangle his spurs:
His unravelling went on, but it nevertheless seemed coming to no end. She looked at
him again.
“Thank you for the sight of such a beautiful face!” said the young sergeant, without
ceremony.
Mugford, Gerrard. “Face, linguistic (im)politeness and polyphony in Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd”, Crossroads. A
Journal of English Studies 2013/1, 54-68.
She coloured with embarrassment. “‘Twas un-willingly shown,” she replied, stiffly, and
with as much dignity -- which was very little -- as she could infuse into a position of
captivity.
“I like you the better for that incivility, miss,” he said.
“I should have liked -- I wish -- you had never shown yourself to me by intruding here!”
She pulled again, and the gathers of her dress began to give way like liliputian
musketry.
“I deserve the chastisement your words give me. But why should such a fair and dutiful
girl have such an aversion to her father’s sex?”
“Go on your way, please.”
“What, Beauty, and drag you after me? Do but look; I never saw such a tangle!”
(Chapter 24)
Troy’s use of language contrasts heavily with the self-effacement of Oak and
Boldwood’s direct face-threatening act i.e. bald on record impoliteness. He can react to
(im)politic and (im)polite remarks through face boosting acts (Bayraktaroğlu, 1991, 2001),
which aim to make the addressee feel good. For instance, Troy deftly deals with Bathsheba’s
reprimands and reproaches by employing humour (e.g. “Thank you for the sight of such a
beautiful face” when Bathsheba cannot untangle herself), language play (e.g. the use of drag
and tangle), and enjoyment (“I like you the better for that incivility, miss”).
In one sense Troy adds a breath of fresh air and a certain degree of comic relief to the
staid and predictable interactions of the protagonists of Far from the Madding Crowd but it
turns out to be a dangerous and destructive breath of fresh air.
7.
Conclusion
An understanding of face offers the reader a way of appreciating how Hardy as the author and
the protagonists, such as Gabriel Oak, Sergeant Troy, and Boldwood attempt to engage in
interpersonal relationships in Far from the Madding Crowd. In projecting their face, the
protagonists demonstrate how they want to come across in the novel and they interact with
others. Linguistic (im)politeness offers one way to appreciating how the protagonists project
their face and undertake facework in Far from the Madding Crowd and can be described in
terms of politic and polite behaviour: politic representing ordinary manners and conduct and
polite reflecting behaviour that goes beyond the expected. The analysis shows how the
protagonists use politic and polite behaviour to come across in their own way and to achieve
their interpersonal aims: the courting of Bathsheba Oak and Boldwood reflects politic
behaviour and gives each man different results; Troy, on the other hand, uses polite and
potentially impolite behaviour to win Bathsheba’s hand.
An understanding of both politic and polite and impolitic and impolite behaviour
allows the reader to examine not only the author’s portrayal of the characters but, through
polyphony, to examine for himself or herself how the protagonists interact with one another.
This approach helps the reader develop multiple interpretations of the novel. As Regan
argues:
what Hardy’s novel repeatedly suggests is the fallible, tentative nature of human
perception. This abiding interest in multiple perspectives and different angles of vision
has a powerful impact on Hardy’s understanding of what constitutes realism. Instead of
an authoritative, single-minded account of what is true or real, we are much more likely
to encounter a conflicting and competing series of impressions (2009: 249).
Mugford, Gerrard. “Face, linguistic (im)politeness and polyphony in Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd”, Crossroads. A
Journal of English Studies 2013/1, 54-68.
This paper has tried to demonstrate that the author may have extreme difficulty in
controlling how the reader interprets events and the characters involved in them. The reader
will often make his/her own judgements and therefore reach his/her own conclusions
regarding how the protagonists of the novel, Gabriel Oak, Sergeant Frank Troy and William
Boldwood construct, develop, maintain or even destroy their interpersonal relationships.
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